Blues_X:"Ultra orthodox" seems to be a polite way of saying "asshole".

i'm an atheist, and consequently i find all religion pretty much ridiculous - but certainly "orthodox" religion, whatever the stripe, is not only ridiculous, in many cases it is also incredibly harmful.

The Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes, who prosecuted the Weberman case, has now received allegations that members of a modesty committee forced their way into a home in the borough, confiscating an iPad and computer equipment deemed inappropriate for Orthodox children, officials say. Allegations have also surfaced that a modesty committee threatened to publicly shame a married man who was having an affair unless he paid the members money for what they described as therapy.

Blues_X:"Ultra orthodox" seems to be a polite way of saying "asshole".

Only when they make the news. The thing about ultra-Orthodoxy is that they generally don't want the attention. When you get fanatical enough, though any attention is good attention - and these assholes THRIVE on negative press, since their whole raison d'etre is "to fight against the immoral depravity thrust upon society by perverse monsters" in the first place. The negative attention feeds their cause.

// never got harassed by such squads in Jerusalem or otherwise// would love the chance to Hulk out on such assholery, but I'd also have liked beating them with religious argumentation// or just, you know, never deal with them

Extremism and extremist behavior is at the root of most ills infecting society today.Funny how many keep forgetting every person born came into this world in the same manner.And we will all eventually die, there are no exceptions.But by all means, let's continue treating each other like crap...cause, you know, we're different and all.

FTA: "They're considered crazy, but people don't want to confront them."

This is what it really comes down to, Jews in the community are afraid to say anything. For extremely religious people, being Orthodox is like a pissing contest. Nobody wants to be seen as less religious as the next guy, even when the next guy is batshiat insane.

And they just straight up don't care what anyone from outside the community has to say, if you're not Orthodox Jewish, you're barely above the dirt.

vernonFL:The Larch: Vectron: So you're telling other people how to dress?

I love the hats. Does anyone know if there's a coffee table book somewhere called "Very Silly Hats of Brooklyn" or something similar?

The hats are a status symbol, they are worn to mark how wealthy a person is. Those people are wealthy.

I don't think you realize the huge variety of hats that are worn in Brooklyn. I'm guessing they're like wrist watches to financial guys, or handbags to suburban women. The people who wear them can probably recognize all sorts of things about each other from those hats, and not just relative status...

Many of the rules of conduct are focused explicitly on regulating what Hasidic women car wear in public, believing that an uncovered head or a skirt that reveals too much will arouse the sexual attention of men and boys.

Somebody HELP US!! We can't control ourselves, so we have to punish all women who are not covered from head to toe!